Flush ball guide



Sept. 17, 1963 T. w. SMITH 3,103,668

FLUSH BALL GUIDE Filed Jan. 11, 1961 W /5 Z) W Z6 5/ I53 I Z5 Z6 /7 I A [y I J0 3 l 5 A Z7 4 g Z A? Z a a Z v /7 l IHIIDJF W Z,// l l/ //7/A//////////7/ Z7 INVENTOR VIIIIIIIIIIIHI1L my 7 y BY I will -6 W ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,103,668 FLUSH BALL GUEDE Thomas W. Smith, Box 131, Yancey ville, Nil. Filed Jan. 11, 1961, Ser. No. 81,970 2 Claims. (Cl. 456) This invention relates to plumbing fixtures, and more particularly to an improvement in the supporting mechanism for toilet-flush tank ball valves.

Ball valves of this type are commonly mounted on a slender wire rod extending vertically upward from the top or the ball. In order to guide the upward and downward movement of the valve, one or more vertically spaced brackets are provided having openings thnough which this red is slidably received. Over a period of time, deposits of solid material gradually accumulate on the rod and its supports which may eventually tend to impede or prevent closing of the valve.

In addition, the initial opening of a flush tank valve causes the ball to move upwardly at relatively great speed and force, due to the differential in pressure existing at the [discharge pipe opening when the ball is initially raised, and also due to the fact that the specific gravity of the ball is relatively light as compared to water. Over a period of time, these repeated violent upward movements will cause the supporting rod to become bent to such an extent that it will not run freely in the gmides, or the ball will not properly seat on its downward stroke.

A number of solutions have been proposed to overcome these difficulties. It has been pnoposed to provide the underside of the ball with downwardly projecting guide members to assist in centering the ball as it drops down on the discharge pipe opening. It has also been proposed to surround the discharge pipe with vertically projecting guide members for the same purpose.

More recently, the suggestion has been made to mount the ball valve rigidly on a horizontally extending member which, in turn, swings about a fixed horizontal pivot. These latter arrangements, however, have serious disadvantages. Some must be accurately dimensioned to fit the particular tank or discharge pipe with which they are to be used; generally, the entire flush valve mechanism must be designed as a unit so that it becomes necessary to dismantle the tank in order to replace a defective valve; and they cannot readily be adjusted to accommodate for variations in the position or height of the discharge pipe opening. Others are relatively complex and overly expensive. Others have a heavy arm that does not permit the valve to automatically float during flush ing. Lighter arms tend to flip over to an inoperative position on flushing and this has also been a problem.

Therefore, it is the object of the present invention to provide a flush tank ball valve mounting assembly which will ensure accurate positioning and positive operation of the valve over an extended period of use.

It is another object of the invention to provide ball valve guide means which, while ensuring accurate position ng of the ball during closure, is readily adjustable to achieve this purpose.

It is a further object to provide a flush tank valve mechanism replacement unit which can be substituted in existing equipment without the necessity for dismantling the equipment or making any changes in the connections thereto.

Still another object of the invention is the improvement of pivoted arm flush valve guides to make their manufacture less expensive while at the same time making them more effective in operation without the attendant diiiiculties heretofore experienced.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent 3" l 8 Patented Sept. 17, 1 963 after reading the following specification, in connection with the annexed drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan View of a portion of a conventional flush tank equipped with a preferred embodiment of a ball tank guide in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a cross sectional elevation taken on the line 2-2 of FIG. 1, and;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary plan View, taken on the line 3-3 of FIG. 1 showing a detail of the connection between the ball and the pivotal support member.

Referring now to the drawing in detail, the retfierence numeral 10 indicates generally a portion of a conventional flush tank having a bottom wall 11 and front and back walls 12 and 13, respectively. A discharge pipe 14 enters the tank 16 through a suitably sealed opening in the bottom wall 11 and terminates at its upper end in a conventionally formed conical valveseat 15 which 00'- operates with a generally ball-shaped valve member 16 to control the outlet of water from the hush tank.

The ball 16, which may be of any standard type, is ad: justably supported in the tank by suspension means which includes a horizontally extending arm 17 pivotally mounted on a horizontally extending rod 18. One end of this rod is provided with a flat surface 19 and the other end is provided with an annular groove 21 on to which is mounted a conical coil spring 23.

One end of the arm 17 may be formed with a laterally extending web port-ion 25, and this web portion is further provided with horizontally spaced finger-like extensions 26 and 27, which are bent back upon themselves so as to encircle the rod 18 and thereby provide a tree pivotal connection therewith. In order to position the arm 17 longitudinally with respect to the rod 18, a guide collar 28 is positioned on rod 18 between extensions 26 and 27 and held in place by stop screw 29 which also serves to prevent the arm 17 from flipping over backwards.

The other end of the arm 17 is provided with a lateral extension 30.

The extension 36 may be provided with a longitudinally extending slot 31 which is adapted to receive the usual threaded supporting eyebolt for the ball valve 16. In addition, the eyebolt may be also provided with a locking nut 33, this nut being placed above the extension member 3 so that the extension member may be tightly gripped between the central upper protuberance 34 of the ball valve and the nut 3-3. Lifting of the valve 16 is accomplished in the usual way through upward movement of a control lever (not shown) having a suitable connec ticn with the eyebolt 32 such as a flexible wire or the chain 35, as shown.

The materials of construction are important to the extent that the parts must withstand immersion in water, rod 1 8 must be of a material easily severed by simple tools, and arm 17 must be light enough to permit the ball valve to float during flushing. Since plastic materials vary in density from a lower limit of about 1.05, almost the same as water, to an upper limit usually not more than twice the density of water, they are excellent for this purpose. Rod 18 also must be made of a material which will not slip easily on wall 12 or else a non-slip cover will be needed.

The installation of the flush valve guide described is very simple. Rod 18 made of a light plastic, preferably lucite, is furnished in a length exceeding that of the widest flush tank.

As a first step, one measures the distance between the inside or walls 12 and 13 at the spot where the rod 18 is to be mounted. The extra long rod is then cut, as by sawing, at the end 19 so that the length of the rod, excluding the spring is A1" to A" shorter than the measured distance.

Collar 28, made of brass or plastic, together with 3,1oa,ese

:3 loosely held stop pin 29', is then placed between extensions 26 and 27 and rod 18 is inserted to assemble these parts in a loose condition.

At this point, the assembly just described will be set into the tank and slid into the desired position in which it will be held by spring 23. Next ball valve 16 will be seated properly in seat 15 at which time valve 16 will be connected to arm 17 by the eyebo-lt and locknut '33 extending through slot 31.

The proper longitudinal position of arm 17 on rod 18 and the final position of rod 18 in the tank can then be determined by trial and error. Fixing stop screw 29 on rod 18 will hold arm 17 in position through collar 28. It should be noted that screw 29 is long enough to serve as a stop to prevent flipover. However, during assembly it should be positioned to project substantially upward to accomplish this purpose. This will be automatic, as the stop position is also the position of greatest screw-driver accessibility. Once this has been done, the position of the ball valve 16 will be fixed, and the proper seating of the valve will be assured.

Having described a preferred embodiment of the invention, it will be apparent that various changes and modifications can be made in the size and arrangement of parts which would come within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a ball valve support structure for use in a compartment having a pair of spaced vertical walls, an elongated rod having a length substantially less than the inner width of said compartment having one end provided with a surface adapted to frictionally engage one of said vertical walls, a conical coil spring on the other end of said rod with the base thereof disposed to frictionally engage the other of said vertical Walls, a narrow elongated arm having a pair of longitudinally projecting portions at one end encircling spaced portions of said rod to provide a pivotal connection therewith, said portions forming a circumferential slot therebetween, a guide collar slidably mounted on said rod in said slot, and a set screw for fixing said collar on said arm, the other end of said arm being provided with means for connecting same to a ball valve for guiding it in a pivotal arc about said rod.

2, In a flush valve guide of the type wherein a rod is mounted between the walls of a flush tank and a valve guide arm pivots about said rod, that improvement which comprises, in combination, a straight rod having a length substantially less than the inner width of said tank, a compressed coil spring on one end of said rod resiliently mounting said rod between said walls, said arm being provided with a bifurcated end having means for pivot ally mounting said arm on said rod, a collar slidably mounted on the rod within the bifurcated end of the arm for fixing the position of the arm along the rod, and a set-screw stop member extending through said collar and engaging said rod to fix the longtiudinal position of said collar on said rod, said set-screw in fixed position extending outwardly above said collar a substantial distance to a position which will prevent said arm from rising to dead center above said rod.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,731,646 Hughes Jan. 24, 1956 2,754,522 Earsley July 17, 1956 2,756,437 Svabelr et al July 31, 1956 2,762,059 Jahn Sept. 11, 1956 2,801,425 Stombaugh Aug. 6, 1957 2,821,721 Nelson Feb. 4, 1958 2,887,690 Hudkins May 26, 1959 2,970,319 Lassiter Feb. 7, 1961 

1. IN A BALL VALVE SUPPORT STRUCTURE FOR USE IN A COMPARTMENT HAVING A PAIR OF SPACED VERTICAL WALLS, AN ELONGATED ROD HAVING A LENGTH SUBSTANTIALLY LESS THAN THE INNER WIDTH OF SAID COMPARTMENT HAVING ONE END PROVIDED WITH A SURFACE ADAPTED TO FRICTIONALLY ENGAGE ONE OF SAID VERTICAL WALLS, A CONICAL COIL SPRING ON THE OTHER END OF SAID ROD WITH THE BASE THEREOF DISPOSED TO FRICTIONALLY ENGAGE THE OTHER OF SAID VERTICAL WALLS, A NARROW ELONGATED ARM HAVING A PAIR OF LONGITUDINALLY PROJECTING PORTIONS AT ONE END ENCIRCLING SPACED PORTIONS OF SAID ROD TO PROVIDE A PIVOTAL CONNECTION THEREWITH, SAID PORTIONS FORMING A CIRCUMFERENTIAL SLOT THEREBETWEEN, A GUIDE COLLAR SLIDABLY MOUNTED ON SAID ROD IN SAID SLOT, AND A SET SCREW FOR FIXING SAID COLLAR ON SAID ARM, THE OTHER END OF SAID ARM BEING PROVIDED WITH MEANS FOR CONNECTING SAME TO A BALL VALVE FOR GUIDING IT IN A PIVOTAL ARC ABOUT SAID ROD. 